Yours, T
by AngelicBee
Summary: Katara finds a message engraved into Toph's bedroom wall, from a lover called "T." Out of curiosity, she watches them, only to have her heart broken from every word out of their mouth.
1. Chapter 1 - The Message

The news of Fire Lord Zuko's collapse was news that Katara feared she would one day receive. She was definitely hoping it would be longer than six years.

The Fire kingdom physicians confirmed her suspicions: the young Fire Lord was suffering from organ damage he had accumulated from a lightning bolt. More specifically, the hit he had taken from Azula to protect Katara. Katara had done her best to heal him after the incident, but once he had gathered enough strength to go about his days normally, he refused anymore treatment from her.

Now, this decision could possibly mean his death. She and Aang quickly packed their bags (though they were already packed since they traveled the world together nowadays) and met Toph, Sokka, and Suki in the Fire Kingdom.

The past two weeks had had a solemn feel. The possibility of death's appearance, especially to visit their friend, forced the group to almost be in a constant state of mourning. Sokka's jokes had become few and far between, Toph had grown quieter, and Aang, though he stayed put in the palace, was almost impossible to find. It seemed Katara and Suki, the more mature members of the gaang, were the only ones trying to brighten everyone's spirits.

Katara couldn't speak for Suki, but she was stressed out of her mind. She couldn't trust anyone else to heal Zuko and felt that it was her duty to save him, since she was the one he took the dive for anyway. Her mental state must have been obvious to her friends because whenever she attempted to speak cheerily and brighten the mood, someone suggested she lay down and catch some sleep.

How could she sleep? How could she possibly sleep when, at any moment, Zuko might die? Collectively, Katara was sure she had gotten a full night's sleep in the past two weeks. She was ashamed to admit a good portion of her sleep had been brought on in the middle of her healing sessions with the Fire Lord. Why did healing have to have such a soothing feeling?

On their way back to the Fire Kingdom, Aang and Katara stopped by the Northern Water Tribe in hopes of receiving more spirit water. Chief Arnook sadly told them he could not allow anyone else to take some spirit water. Katara, though frustrated, understood the sacredness of the liquid and that it could not just be continually given out. The situation seemed to make her even more determined that she be the one to save Zuko.

"Katara?" His weak voice called her away from her thoughts. It wasn't often that Zuko was awake, though she wasn't sure if the it was the organ damage or healing that forced him into unconsciousness.

The waterbender could already feel herself begin to tear up. "Hey, Zuko. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like six years ago my mentally unstable sister shot a lightning bolt at me and now I'm suffering organ damage," he closed his eyes, attempting to crack a smile.

Katara, in all her worry, found herself laughing. "Stop it! You need to rest."

Zuko opened his eyes just to narrow them at her. "It doesn't look like you have been. When was the last time you ate, Katara?"

A growl from her stomach answered the question for her.

"You can't sit by my bed all day, Katara. Constant healing isn't going to make it any better if you're in such a bad state that your bending hardly works." Katara followed his gaze to the puddles of water on the ground when she had lost control of the liquid. "I'm hungry. Go find something for both of us to eat."

Katara knew it was a 50/50 chance Zuko was actually hungry, but she knew he was right and she clumsily bent the water off herself in an attempt to look… not like a complete mess.

Along the way to the kitchen, Katara made sure to tell her friends that Zuko was awake if they wanted to see how he was doing. The only person she couldn't find was, as usual, Aang. No one knew where he hid in the palace, but the farthest from people was probably it.

Oddly enough, Katara didn't find herself missing her boyfriend's presence. She had been traveling with him for the past year, which was obviously full of their share of arguments and disagreements. There weren't many points in the year that they had time to be away from each other. Still, two weeks in and she wasn't necessarily looking forward to the sparse encounters she had with him.

"Hi, Jiao," Katara greeted the passing young woman. She had very recently been hired as a servant in the palace and was, therefore, not as quick to carrying out orders due to her not having experienced the wrath of Ozai or Azula. Katara found her more human in a way. Easier to speak with.

"Hello, Ambassador Katara," the young woman referred to Katara by the title she went by when she had lived in the palace a few years before. All the other servants still called her that, so Jiao must have followed suit. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Is there anything prepared already that Zu- the Fire Lord can eat?"

Jiao nodded eagerly. "Absolutely. Would you like me to bring some food for you as well?" An offer like that would not come out of any other servant's mouth. They often conducted orders exactly as told without any questions.

Katara nodded tiredly, attempting a grateful smile. "Yes, please."

"Wait here. I'll be back as quick as I can."

The likelihood of that statement being true was not very high. Jiao was known to get easily distracted, but she would eventually finish her chores. Katara could only wonder how long Jiao would survive in this palace with Ozai and Azula as rulers. Zuko would find her nice to be around, even if irritating at times.

The waterbender stared up at the paintings in the hall. They were grand, larger than any painting needed to be, but beautiful. Most pictures were of nature using monochromatic color (predictably, the red, gold, and black colors of the Fire Nation). She knew farther down the hall were paintings of the previous Fire Lords, but she averted her eyes from them. The cold eyes of Ozai brought back memories she rather not relive. She was reminded of the third day after she arrived in the Fire Nation, when Toph had called her away to show her a storage room she had discovered, eager to know if anything in there was interesting.

Katara, at first, found nothing. Eventually, she moved a sheet to find an unfinished portrait of Azula wearing the Fire Lord crown. Katara decided she rather not explore the palace anymore.

"Ambassador Katara!" Jiao's bubbly voice made her turn around from the paintings and from her memories. She held a tray with two steaming dishes of food resting on it. Katara felt her stomach grumble in anticipation. "Would you like me to walk the food with you?"

Katara shook her head. She wanted to get to the room as fast as possible so she could eat whatever meat was on that dish. "No, thank you, Jiao. Continue with your chores."

Jiao handed her the tray before bowing and walking off to (hopefully) do as she was told.

Katara took off in the opposite direction. She hardly had enough energy to take her feet off the ground, but somehow she found the willpower to trudge on. The walk back to Zuko's room seemed to be longer than the walk away, even though she had stopped three times to tell Sokka, Suki, and Toph that they could go visit him. No matter what the reason for the long walk, Katara took the time to digest the visuals of the palace. There were small details she didn't recall seeing before.

There was a small burn mark near the floor over there. And up on the ceiling was a large spider web that surely someone must have to clean off soon. That painting was slightly tilted. Toph had left her room door open. That was odd. Katara could have sworn Toph was closing it before she even spoke to her.

Well, Katara walked over to close it for her, when she noticed an engraving in the stone wall. Upon closer notice, Katara realized they were words. Were they supposed to be there? It was so neat, it looked as though an earthbender bent it. The fire nation would have to chisel that out. She read the first line.

 _Toph,_

Oh. It was not chiseled out for decoration. It was a personal message, obviously. Katara shouldn't read it if it's a personal message.

 _Toph,_

 _I would love to have a moment to have you to myself_

"Love." Did Toph have a secret lover? Perhaps just an eager friend. But the engraving was so neat! Only a lover would take the time to chisel it out so perfectly so that their blind love could read it. Why was it secret?

 _I would love to have a moment to have you to myself to speak. It has been too long since we had a moment to ourselves without others around._

The mood lately was very somber. If Toph had a lover, she may have felt it was inappropriate to make it public knowledge. Katara wasn't outside of Zuko's room often, but she could only assume Sokka, Suki, and Toph were normally together to make sure everyone was alright. At least, when she attempted to start an activity, the three were together already.

It must be hard for Toph to get a moment to have a heart-to-heart conversation with a mysterious stranger. A mysterious stranger who had access into the palace, Katara realized! Or a mysterious stranger skilled in secrecy.

By the spirits, Katara was tired. Her imagination was running far too wild. _Just finish reading the message since you're already going to go through Toph's private life_ , she convinced herself.

 _If you miss our time together as well, please meet me tonight in the dining room when everyone else is asleep.  
Yours,  
T_

T? Whose name started with T? Katara racked her brain through the servants in the palace, even the female ones, but sadly realized she knew the names of very few servants. She made a note to herself to pay more attention. The closest she could think was Teo, but that was impossible since he was in the Earth Kingdom.

Katara took one last look at the message, admiring the handiwork again, before grabbing the tray of food again and rushing outside the room before Toph came back. She hesitated for a moment, her hand on the knob, before leaving it a crack open as it was when she arrived.

Suddenly, Katara had a burst of energy and rushed back to Zuko's room. She was surprised to see the trio standing outside the room. They all wore pensive looks.

"What happened?" Katara's mind immediately spiraled downward. She dropped the food on the ground without thinking. "Is he OK? Did he relapse? Let me see him!" She attempted to push past them, but Sokka grabbed her wrist.

Katara stopped, shocked at her brother's response.

"Zuko is fine, Katara. But you're not," Sokka looked sadly at her, as though he didn't want to say what he was about to say to her. Most likely, he probably didn't want to have to tell his sister what to do. "Zuko told us that you're here almost 24/7. You need to rest."

"That's not true," she protested. "You've seen me out! I always try to get you guys to do something exciting, but you are all the ones who want to mope around all day."

"And when we tell you to go lay down, do you do it?" Toph asked her, her eyes were hidden behind her bangs. Katara was reminded for a moment of the message she had read off Toph's wall. She was keeping something else hidden behind those bangs.

Katara huffed and didn't respond.

"No you don't," Sokka answered for her. "You come back here and wear yourself out, trying to heal without any energy to do it."

The waterbender took her hand back. "Fine. But I brought him food. At least let me give him some food."

"I'll take it," Suki piped up, grabbing a plate from the ground. The food hadn't moved much even after the rough landing. She walked inside Zuko's room, closing the door quickly behind herself as though Katara was going to try to race in after her. Actually, Katara might have tried that if she saw the opportunity.

Katara crossed her arms. "Alright, fine. I'll stay out of there… for the day. But that's it."

Both Sokka and Toph smiled at her. The pair tackled her with a hug, actually making Katara fall due to how weak her body was until Sokka grabbed her arm and Toph bent a rock wall bend her.

"Oof," Katara closed her eyes, taking in the impact of hitting a solid rock wall.

"At least, you have all day to rest that," Toph grinned.

* * *

 **SOOO. "Yours, T" is now being upgraded into a multi-chapter story. It's alright if you already know the twist, it's revealed in the next chapter (and like... if you look at the character tags...). I'll post the original one-shot again after I finish this. I don't think it will be too long, maybe 5-7 chapters? It depends on where my imagination goes with this. Tell me what you think so far of the premise! Thank you so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2 - 'Relaxation'

**Hey! I just wanted to ask if you could take a minute to vote on the poll in my profile. Thanks!**

* * *

Toph groaned. Then, she rolled over. Her leg purposely bumped into Suki's arm. Suki rolled her eyes and flipped the page to her magazine. Toph groaned again.

"Toph, if you don't want to be a part of magazine time, go and do something else," Suki said as she continued to stare at the page.

"Thank the spirits," Toph said as she hopped up from the cushions. Somehow, Suki and Toph had arranged that an entire sitting area to be covered with cushions. They told Katara it had been like that for the past week. "I thought I was going to be stuck here doing nothing for the next hour."

Katara watched the girl, trying to figure out her secrets as though there was some code laced between her words. She had not spent the last few minutes staring at portraits of shirtless firebenders like Suki had. Instead, the waterbender was looking at Toph, deep in thought as she tried to figure out who "T" was.

"No one said you did. All I said was that we should look at magazines together and Katara agreed. You were the one who sat down and complained for five minutes." Suki flipped another page.

"Whatever. I'm out of here. I'll see you later." Toph practically skipped out the door.

Katara bit her lip, taking a moment to decide whether or not to bring up what she had found in Toph's room. Suki had spent a lot more time with Toph than Katara had lately. The Kyoshi warrior was more likely to have a better idea. "Suki, who would you think of if I said that their name started with T?" She settled on asking. Katara could hardly keep the overwhelming curiosity from her voice.

Suki finally set down the magazine to think. "Like other than Toph?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. I don't think anyone you would know. There's a girl in my warrior group named Tamaka."

Katara shook her head. "No, that's not it…"

"Toph calls Aang Twinkletoes," Suki pointed out. Katara responded with a snort. The likelihood of the message being from her righteous boyfriend was the same as it being signed by Tui, which was saying something since Tui herself was now dead and replaced by Yue.

"No, that wouldn't be it either." Katara sighed and picked up her magazine from her lap, settling on actually relaxing for now (or, at least, that's what she told herself).

Suki, seeing Katara' s new disinterest, shrugged and went back to her portraits. "Ooo, Xinggan is a nice-looking fellow."

…

"See! Sibling time is great!" Sokka insisted, grinning at her in excitement for her to share his same level of enthusiasm.

Katara looked up from her bead necklace to glance at Sokka's crude painting. "Yeah, Sokka. What I want to do instead of healing one of my good friends from potential death is to be making jewelry."

"Hey, I never said that you would _rather_ be doing this. Come on, don't you miss being with your big bro?" He looked at her with big, puppy dog eyes.

The waterbender felt her heart ache. She didn't even think about it until then. It _had_ been a long time since she had even _seen_ Sokka, let alone spend time with him. The commotion of Zuko's collapse had completely distracted her from the reunion she was supposed to be having with her friends. Suki, Sokka, and Toph probably were having that reunion (minus half the team).

Katara nodded, feeling a tear drop start to form. "Yeah, I do miss it."

Sokka brightened and went back to his art project. His sister, however, was not interested in those types of crafts. Instead, she attempted to start up some deep, thoughtful conversation with him (conveniently forgetting that Sokka was not always the deep, thoughtful type).

"Do you think Yue is doing well?" She asked suddenly. The question must have popped in her head because of her conversation with Suki earlier.

Sokka didn't seem to react to the question aside from moving the brush slower. "Yeah. I'm sure it's not totally terrible to be an all-knowing spirit," he said softly with just a tinge of humor to his voice. Almost ashamedly, he admitted, "Sometimes she visits me in my dreams."

Katara raised her eyebrows. "She visits you? Are you sure they aren't just… you know, dreams?"

"No, it's her. She's only come a few times. We talk, but I can't ever remember what we talk about. I know she likes Suki." He dipped the brush in the ink, his eyes watching as the bristles submerged into the liquid. "Yue came just a few weeks ago. She warned me about Zuko, but it wasn't until we heard the news that I could remember. I remembered then that she said something bad was going to happen to three of us, but she wasn't allowed to say anymore because I would remember before it happened."

His sister bristled. "Why wouldn't you say something earlier?"

"Because what does that even mean, Katara? 'Something bad is going to happen to three of us.' That could mean anything. It could mean Zuko dies and then me and Suki break up. It could mean that three of us get food poisoning." He shrugged. "Besides, it's _my_ conversation with Yue."

"I think Toph is seeing someone," Katara blurted out. _Wow, really good transition, 'Tara._

Sokka looked at her quizzically. "Do you mean dating someone or that she is physically able to see someone…?"

" _Dating_ someone, Sokka." Katara rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, that was completely off-topic, but it's been bugging me since I found out."

"When did you find out?"

"This morning. I found an engraving on her wall saying that whoever it is missed their time together and they wanted to meet again tonight. It was signed 'T,'" Katara told him.

Sokka chuckled as he soaked in the idea. "Interesting. A secret affair."

"It's not an affair. It's just secret. Do you have any idea of who it could be?"

"Teo's name starts with T," Sokka offered.

"I already thought of that! Teo's with his dad. He wouldn't be able to get to the Fire Nation, let alone sneak into the Fire Palace, then Toph's room and engrave a message into her wall. I can't think of anybody." Katara sighed in frustration, burying her hand into her hair.

Sokka nodded and began to stroke his chin as he attempted to solve the mystery. "Maybe there's a servant here whose name starts with a T. That would make the most sense."

"Yeah, I thought so too. I just can't think of anyone."

"Plus, most of the servants here are women," Sokka pointed out.

Katara frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, why would Toph's secret lover be a woman?"

"What's wrong with that?" Katara countered.

Sokka raised his hands in defense. "Look, I already got into a situation like this before and then I got my butt kicked by a girl. I'm just going to stay out of it."

"Good, because you'd get your butt kicked again." Katara smirked.

Sokka returned the conversation to its main topic. "I mean, if you're so curious about it, why don't you just spy on their conversation?"

"I could never do that! That's against their privacy!" Katara said appalled, though, in her mind, she was already working out the places she could hide in the dining room. She was fairly certain there was a closet in the dining room. But how would she prevent Toph from feeling her heartbeat's vibrations?

Sokka rolled his eyes, knowing already that her brain was already figuring out the kinks to a plan she just said she would never do. "Okay. Then, we'll just never know until Toph feels she's ready to tell us." He dipped his brush in the paint again.

"I guess so," Katara sighed, picking up her bracelet and a bead.

…

When was "when everyone's asleep"? How was she supposed to know when everyone was asleep? Katara supposed Toph would be able to feel when the majority of the castle was away in their bedrooms. It would be especially be easy for Toph to know when she was asleep considering she and the other two had tucked her into bed… Then, they proceeded to order a guard to stay outside her door to make sure she rested that night. She wasn't even allowed to leave the entire night, so Sokka made sure she peed before bed.

If only she had told Sokka that she was going to watch Toph and her lover that night; maybe he would have arranged for the guard to leave as soon as Suki and Toph left. Alas, she did not, so Katara was stuck figuring out a way to not only get out of her room, but somehow get to the dining room before Toph did.

A flash outside her window caught her eye. For a moment, Katara's tired (and hopeful) mind thought it might have been Aang, but the little brown bird perched right outside her window told her otherwise.

Katara sighed in sadness as she remembered the last time Aang had flown in to see her with an actual smile on his face. It was far longer than a year ago. Was it when he visited her when she lived in the Fire Kingdom or in the South Pole? The South Pole. She remembered it clearly. He was excited about riding the penguins again, but glumly discovered later that he was too big to ride then anymore. How old was he? 15. Sokka made a comment about it later that day.

The last time Aang looked excited to see her was almost two years ago and it wasn't even because he wanted to see her. In fact, he was fairly jumpy the entire visit. Like she was going to accuse him of something. Thankfully, he had eventually stopped with that attitude when they started traveling together, but then he was always aggravated with her. Or maybe she was always aggravated with him. Katara wasn't sure which came first, but the year hadn't been that enjoyable. No wonder Aang was using this time to stay away from her.

The waterbender shook herself out of her thoughts before she could depress herself anymore. She was supposed to be trying to keep everything upbeat. Katara tossed open the window, scaring the little brown bird away, and snuck along the edge of the palace. She prayed to the spirits that there was no one looking in that direction. She dropped herself down onto a terrace below her, reminding her of the mission she had gone on with Zuko in search of her mother's murderer. The thought of Zuko laying there near death made her feel a pang in her chest. She was going to spend the night healing him after this to make up for not being there during the day. What was another night without sleep?

As fast as she could, Katara snuck through the palace, trying to take as light steps as she could so Toph wouldn't be able to feel her. The action would be pointless, as Toph grew up, so did her senses. Her area of "sight" had grown significantly and become clearer. Katara had unfortunately discovered this when the gaang had met up in the Fire Kingdom just a few months before. She and Toph were having a late-night talk when Toph had stepped down from the bed and immediately twisted her face in disgust, pulling herself back on the bed again. She said nothing but, "Sokka and Suki" and Katara knew for a fact that their bedrooms were not only two floors below them but a distance away.

Still, she hoped Toph at least wouldn't be able to tell it was _her_ if she could see that someone was nearby.

Katara peered around the corner to the dining room. She exhaled in relief as she saw there was nobody sitting at the unnecessarily-long table. Quickly, she scampered over to the closet on the other side of the room.

"Shit," she whispered to herself as she stared down at the stone floor of the closet. It wasn't like she could stop her heart from beating; Toph would be able to tell she was there no matter how still she stood. Now, she could feel her heart beating even faster, knowing her time was running out. With a large gesture above her head, Katara dragged as much water as she could from the kitchen nearby (a difficult task since she had no idea where the water was specifically) and froze a thick ice sheet on the bottom of the floor. Praying that it was enough, Katara hid herself in the closet and waited.

* * *

 **Yes, this will be a Taang/Zutara/Sukka story for those asking. I'm attempting to write a Taang story from Katara's perspective, but I'm also certain the Zutara mayyy take over just little bit (like Adridere's _A Matter of Honor -_ a fantastic Taang piece by the way, but it was originally supposed to be Zutara from Toph's perspective).  
**

 **I hope it'll still be worth the read! The big "reveal" will be next chapter now. Please feel free to review (and vote on my poll...)!**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Meeting

_Toph,  
I would love to have a moment to have you to myself._ _It has been too long since we had a moment to ourselves without others around. If you miss our time together as well, please meet me tonight in the dining room when everyone else is asleep.  
Yours,  
T_

Katara recited the words in her head, trying to make sure that she got everything right. As she predicted, when she went to check Toph's room later, the engraving was gone. Her wall was a clean slate. A part of her hoped she had imagined it, but she would know for sure within the next few minutes.

The waterbender steadied her breath. She needed her heartbeat to chill out if she had any hope that Toph wouldn't feel her presence.

Ten minutes passed until Katara heard anything.

"You came," said a masculine voice in a sigh of relief. It was familiar so she knew him. Katara looked through the slots to the closet, but they were out of her sight.

"Yeah, I came. I guess I've got a crush on you or something," Toph said in her usual sarcastic tone. "Where are you lately? It's impossible for me to find you- and I can almost see this entire place standing right here."

So he's in the palace? A servant perhaps? There were footsteps. Katara closed her eyes and held her breath.

"Wait," Toph said. Katara felt her heart beat faster as she moved her hand slightly to make the ice freeze colder. "Sorry, just a rat."

 _A rat._ Katara was a rat. She felt bad for listening in, but she couldn't leave now. Toph would be pissed at her for looking at her personal stuff again. But, wouldn't it be worse if she heard something intimate about the two and then was discovered? Plus, if she left now, she could catch a look at Toph's lover and that's all Katara really wanted to know: what he looked like.

Katara opened an eye and peered through the closet slot. She saw a flash of orange move in front of her closet. That's weird. Servants normally wore red or black. Was Toph wearing orange? She hoped not; passing that close to her would surely alert the blind girl of her presence.

She continued to watch, hoping that she would find a perfect opening to leave.

As the man walked away, Katara was able to notice other details of the back of his body. He was bald: an interesting fashion choice. And there on his head was a line of blue.

Wait.

He turned around even though Katara willed him not to. There, smiling like he was twelve again, was Katara's supposed boyfriend, wrapping his arms around her best friend's waist. He buried his face into her hair, which was down for once.

"Thank you as well for taking your hair down to see me."

"You better be grateful. Do you know what it's like to have hair tickle your face everytime you turn your head? No. Because you're bald." She reached out her hand to the top of his head. "You are still bald, right?"

He laughed. Katara felt her heart break as it sounded so genuine. She felt bad that his laugh being genuine was why she felt her heart break. It wasn't because he wasn't in love with her anymore, but because his lie had extended to the point that he had to pretend to be happy around her.

Suddenly, a rage broke inside Katara. There were so many things going wrong in her life, but she tried to avoid them for as long as she could. Now, seeing this betrayal unravel in front of her seemed to let all her emotions come at her at once. She had been wasting the past year of her life with a man who did not love her. She had lost time with her family, especially her brother who she had spent all her life with. She had lost time with her friends, those from the war and those from back home. She had been lied to for who-knows-how-long. Now, one of her best friends was lying just a floor above them, close to death.

Even though Katara knew it wasn't all Toph's fault, her heart told her to put the blame on the earthbender. And a hatred the young woman didn't even know she had inside her started to burn as she watched the couple talk and laugh together. They were in their own paradise and it wasn't fair that she was ten levels deep into Hell.

"It's nice to see you smile," Aang said as he tilted her head towards him. Their noses touched as the avatar stared into her eyes.

 _I'll tear that damn smile right off your face. What does he see in your eyes? Nothing. They're cold, dark, murky nothingness._

The thoughts in her head didn't make much sense in the moment, but they reflected her feelings greatly.

"I thought a lot about what you asked me that last time we were together." Toph said so quietly, Katara almost couldn't hear her.

"You don't have to answer it, Toph. It was an unfair proposition and I-"

"I would marry you, Aang." Toph's words put Katara completely off-guard. She almost slipped on her own ice. "I don't believe there's another man I could trust.… And I know it seems silly, but marrying you would also make my parents happy. I wouldn't mind bringing them some peace of mind for once. I've caused them a lot of trouble. Most importantly though, I love you Aang."

There was a beat of silence like the words had never been said before.

 _Don't you say that back, Aang. I swear to all your past lives, do not give her hope because I will crush it._

Breathlessly, Aang said it. "I love you too, Toph. I _want_ to commit myself to you."

 _Screw you, Aang. And double screw you, Toph. Why'd you have to ruin everything like that?_

"If you love me, then why are you still with Katara?" She said. Alright, Katara agreed that was a good point but she wasn't planning on being Toph's side for much more. "You can't stay with her just because she's your 'dream girl.'"

"Toph, don't worry. _You're_ my dream girl."

 _And she stole my title._

"So you're going to break things off with her?" Toph asked, expectantly.

Aang hesitated. "I will. Eventually. Things are bad right now, Toph, you know that. Zuko… he's not doing well. Katara's heartbroken over that. She thinks it's her fault. I don't want to make things any worse right now."

Grudgingly, Toph nodded. "Alright. I understand that. But I'm not going to spend another three years being the other."

 _Three years_. Katara's heart seemed to be squeezed by an unknown force. For that long they had been involved. Did Aang fall out of love with her then? Before that? After? Did it even really matter?

She wanted to leave. She tried to move. Katara wanted this to be over. Feeling this anger was as uncomfortable as the heartbreak. The waterbender realized how tired she was. Not only physically, but emotionally, mentally, whatever. She needed a break and definitely not to be stuck in a closet watching her boyfriend and best friend betray her.

His fingers trailed the side of Toph's face. He truly admired her beauty which made Katara sick to the stomach. "I believed I was in love with Katara very shortly after I met her. I think I knew I had lost a lot when I came out of the iceberg, but I denied it. And I held on to her because she seemed to be the only thing I had from that time, even though she wasn't really," he said. "And I believe I did love her. But it wasn't special like I thought. Katara is my first love." Aang took Toph's face into his hands, kissing her forehead. "But I would like you to be my last."

Katara felt a tear drop drip down her face.

Toph nuzzled her face into his chest in contentment. "Thank you. I trust you."

 _Because you seduced him away from thinking about anything else. He doesn't even care that his best friend is dying because of you._

They said nothing else for the rest of the night. They only held each other. Katara had to stay awake because who knows what she would do if she fell asleep with Toph here. What if she moved? Then they would feel guilty, but not enough. She wasn't sure if anything would really make it right.

All Katara knew was that she was going to drag Toph down ten levels of Hell with her.


	4. Chapter 4 - Confrontation

As Katara promised to herself earlier, she trudged back to Zuko's room half an hour after Toph and Aang had left. The Fire Lord was sound asleep, as he probably was the entire day, when she arrived. He most likely didn't even miss her presence.

The waterbender molded the water around her hands before kneeling besides Zuko's body and setting her palms on his abdomen. It was funny, when she first had to heal him, Katara couldn't help but to blush. His muscular frame was not only easy on the eyes, but pleasant to feel. Of course, Katara wasn't about to take advantage of her unconscious friend… but that didn't mean the thought didn't cross her tired, deprived mind.

Now, as expected, she was not only use to the sight and feel of him, but, over time, his muscles had begun to fade from lack of use. Zuko hadn't done so much as try to lie more comfortably before the pain made him stop.

If only Katara had insisted that she heal him longer. Even a week longer could have meant the difference between life and death now. It was times like these where Katara wish she knew more, but there was no place she could go to find the information she wanted. All she had was time and time was too slow.

Before she even realized it, Katara found herself falling asleep. Her head rested against the edge of the bed in an effort give herself a break and kept her hands healing Zuko. But resting her head turned into resting her eyes and, well, you can guess where that lead to.

* * *

"Katara," Zuko's voice broke through her dream world, which was only a replay of what she had seen and heard from the dining room closet. She was grateful for the respite.

The waterbender immediately shot up from her doze to look out the window and see just how long she had slept. The sun was risen and shining brightly into her eyes, much to her distress. "Oh, crap."

Zuko chuckled at her response. "Have you been here all night?"

She turned to look at him, only to see that he was sitting up- Zuko had not been able to sit up on his own the entire she was there. "Zuko! You can't be- lay down!" She pushed him back down by shoulders, readjusting the pillow for his head.

"I'm fine," he insisted, though he complied. "It didn't hurt that much this time."

" _This time_." Katara repeated. "What happens when next time you stress out your injury? No offense, but I don't want to have to create more work for myself."

"I understand," he said with a small smile on his face. "But you never answered my question."

"Hm?" She asked as she bent the water off of his bed from when she had let go of it when she fell asleep.

"Were you here all night? I thought you were supposed to be hanging out with all of them yesterday."

The images of the night before came crashing down into Katara's mind. She had to use all of her willpower to not break down again in front of him. "I was hanging out with them yesterday… but I felt bad for not healing you, so I came back for the night."

"You decided my health was more important than your own again?" He asked with a disapproving look. Of course his health was more important than hers at this stage. He was the Fire Lord and his state of being was because _she_ hadn't been more relentless with him. Well, nothing he said was going to stop her now; Katara was on the edge of giving her own life to make sure _he_ lived.

But Katara didn't say any of that. Instead, she kneeled beside the bed again and started another session.

Zuko sighed and looked around the room as though he was searching for something. Then, without warning, he set his palms against the bed and pushed himself up again.

"Zuko!"

He ignored her shout and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Finally, with a grunt, he was able to steady himself upright. The sickly king was now standing before Katara, a smile of victory on his face as though he had never been able to stand before in his life.

"Zuko, get back in bed," Katara insisted with a frown.

He grabbed the robe hanging from his bed post as he said to her, "What? I want to have breakfast with my friends."

"You can _not_ walk all the way over there. It's not good for your health when you've been bedridden so long, no matter what state your injury is in." Katara tried standing in his way to stop him.

Zuko stopped and thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll lay back down. But then you have to go have breakfast with our friends." Quickly he added, "And bring some back for me."

"I just spent the day with them!"

The fire lord grinned. "It's not like you're an introvert, Katara. It's not fun hanging around with a corpse all the time."

"You're not going to die." She crossed her arms.

"I will if you don't get me some food!" Zuko shuffled the ten feet back to his bed. "Now, go downstairs, talk a little bit, and get me some food. Don't think I won't refuse to eat if you come back too soon."

The idea of having to confront Toph was one Katara hoped she wouldn't even have to think about for a while. She could just shut herself in Zuko's room as she had for the past few weeks and not deal with her friends' betrayal. But now Zuko was forcing her to go outside and interact with them. What was she supposed to do? Tell him about the night before?

Well, here goes nothing. "Last night," she began to say.

Zuko looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

But Katara couldn't tell him. It was hard enough for _her_ to process. She should just go downstairs. Maybe interacting with the group would help her realize that the night before wasn't real. That she had decided last minute not to watch Toph and instead sneak out and heal Zuko for the night. Or that her exhausted mind had made up the message entirely. There was no need to create unnecessary drama.

"I just didn't get to sleep much last night. Could I sleep a bit more before I go down?" She asked. Even though she had just slept most of the night away, a wave of tiredness overcame her as soon as she finished talking. Zuko _did_ seem to be doing a lot better now. Sleeping a little more wouldn't hurt.

Zuko's expression softened and he nodded his head. "Yeah, of course. Do you… want to sleep here?" His hand gestured to the spot next to him on the large bed.

The waterbender responded by crawling onto the bed, not even bothering with a blanket. A bed was _so_ much more comfortable when you were laying on it instead of leaning against it.

The last thing her conscious noticed was Zuko draping a blanket over her body. She could hardly hear Zuko chuckle as she fell asleep so quickly.

* * *

Katara's hopes of sleeping just an hour or two so she could get Zuko's food were squashed when she woke up to the sun setting. "Oh crap," she repeated once she saw the time.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Katara rolled over to see Zuko grinning down at her. He seemed to have been watching her sleep as he was on his side, supporting his head with his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Zuko. You must be starving," Katara said as she whipped out of bed.

He waved it off. "Jiao checked on me when she noticed you didn't come to pick up something for the two of us."

"Did she say anything about the others?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No. Why? Did something happen?"

"Um, no. I'm pretty sure everything's OK."

Zuko noticed her hesitation. He sat up despite Katara's warnings from earlier. "Katara, are you sure you're OK? I know things have been stressful lately, but I feel like something happened."

Katara plastered a smile onto her face. "No. I think I'm just not use to the extra sleep or something." She looked out the window again to see the sun had sunk even further. "Do you want me to go get us dinner? I should head down and see how everyone's doing."

She practically ran out of the room to avoid any more questioning from Zuko. Of course, Katara didn't look forward to her destination anymore than the questioning.

Unfortunately for her, what was left of the gaang was eating dinner together when she arrived and both Sokka and Suki insisted that she sit down and eat with them for a little bit.

"Another twenty minutes isn't going to kill him," Sokka said in reference to Zuko while he sat down across from Katara. He had sat her down beside Toph and Katara had to do everything in her power to not look to her side because she _knew_ she would give something away about the night before to Sokka and Suki. A part of Katara wanted to glance over at her though because maybe just looking at Toph would confirm that she had completely made up the meeting. Or it could do the exact opposite.

"So, how is he doing?" Suki asked as a servant placed a heaping pile of rice and vegetables in front of Katara. She felt her stomach grumble as she smelled the food.

"Better," Katara said. In the corner of her eye she could see Toph move. It was hard to stop herself from gritting her teeth as she spoke. "You guys can see him after dinner if you want."

"Are you actually going to sleep tonight?" Toph asked, the snarky tone to her voice ever-present.

For a moment, Katara felt her heart stop. Did Toph know she was there that night? Did she know that she had read her message?

But it was only for a moment that the waterbender felt guilty. Fine. If Toph knew then _she_ could feel guilty about it. Was she really so cruel so as to bring it up _without_ any guilt?

"We found your open window," Suki said, interrupting Katara's thoughts. "We know you spent the night healing Zuko."

"Oh," Katara replied, feeling stupid to think Toph was _that_ heartless. Before she could say anything else, said earthbender launched up from her seat, knocking it over.

"Aang!" Sokka exclaimed, revealing why Toph would be in such a hurry. Both Katara's brother and Suki rose up from their seats too.

Katara followed their gaze to see her boyfriend being hugged by his earthbending teacher. The sight crushed her; it reminded her of the night before. She knew then that she did not make up the meeting. And that _floozy_ still couldn't keep her hands off of him.

"Hey," Aang said awkwardly. "I didn't realize you guys missed me so much."

"Well, of course we did, Buddy!" Sokka said, throwing an arm around Aang's shoulders once Toph stepped to the side. "How are you doing?"

"Well," Aang's eyes locked with Katara's as he spoke, "I've come to peace with whatever may happen with Zuko and I've decided I'm not going to push you guys out anymore. I'd like to make good memories while we can."

 _Rhino-bull shit. You're here to have an excuse to stare at Toph all day._

"That's so great to hear!" Suki grinned as she clasped her hands together.

Aang hadn't looked away from Katara; he could tell there was something wrong. "Katara, are you alright?"

She realized how odd it seemed that his girlfriend wouldn't get up to greet him, so she lifted the corners of her mouth. It wasn't time to start drama. Not with what was happening with Zuko; Aang was right. Try to make good memories while they had the time. "Yes, Sweetie. I'm just really happy that you're back now." She got up from her seat and let Aang wrap his arms around her.

Katara could feel him release a sigh of relief, but she wasn't too focused on Aang. Sure, she was mad at him for cheating on her, but there was a miniscule amount of anger that she felt towards him compared to what she felt towards the other traitor. The waterbender had finally looked directly at Toph.

And a million ideas to ruin her life and her spirit like she had ruined Katara's flooded into her mind.

* * *

 **So, I didn't really like this chapter. I reviewed it a million times, but I just had a hard time with it. I hope you all like some part of it (like, maybe, the image of shirtless Zuko in bed with Katara ;))  
**

 **Also, just so you guys know, I, the author am aware that Aang is definitely more at fault here than Toph is. I mean, Toph is definitely at fault for entering a relationship with her best friend's boyfriend, but it's Aang's fault for entering the relationship without ending things with Katara first. Not to mention, this obviously isn't a one-off thing, it's been going on for some time.**

 **But Katara is putting almost all the blame on Toph and that's what this story is revolving around. If I'm honest, the exact same thing happened to me. My boyfriend and best friend cheated on me, and while it would definitely be more my boyfriend's fault when it comes down to the facts, I found myself blaming my best friend for what happened. So, we'll just see how all of this plays out with the gaang :)**

 **Please feel free to review and let me know your view on the story. I am open to advice and ideas! I only have a very basic outline and uh... a lack of an ending (I have multiple written down and none I'm leaning towards).** **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Just For Fun

At some point, the Gaang minus Zuko found their way back to the room covered in pillows. Sokka and Suki sat on a loveseat beside the couch Aang had claimed for he and Katara and Toph sat on a cushion by Sokka's feet. Despite all the crap going on with her life right now, Katara couldn't help but smile when she saw Iroh walk in with a tray of tea for everyone.

"It's nice to see you happy, Katara," Iroh said after placing the tray down. He sat down next to her and took her hand into his.

"I'm just happy to see you, Iroh." Katara remembered the other surprise visitor and turned her head towards Aang, giving him the best smile she could muster. Though any happiness that she put into it had come from Iroh's presence. "And my boyfriend, _of course_."

Aang gave her a grateful, relieved look before asking, "When did you get here, Iroh? I don't remember seeing you when we first arrived a few weeks ago."

Iroh let go of Katara's hand and folded his hands in his lap, his expression close sour. "I arrived a few days after you, Avatar. Where did _you_ go?" Katara found his face to be hard and tough to read.

Aang blushed. "I was scared, I'm ashamed to say. Zuko's my best friend; I couldn't imagine losing him." _Coward_.

"And your solution was to leave your friends to grieve by themselves?" There was an uncharacteristic passive-aggressiveness to Iroh's words that gave Katara a small rush.

"I-I guess so," Aang stammered out, unsure of how to respond to the general's comments. "I mean, I'm back now."

"Yes… You're back now." Iroh nodded but said nothing else to him. It seemed he had no wise advice for the avatar that day. "Katara, how is my nephew doing? I visited him just before and he looked much better."

"I think he _is_ getting better!" Katara said brightly, momentarily forgetting about the cheating boyfriend clinging to her arm. "My main problem has always been that all of Zuko's damage is on the inside. I can feel it when I heal, but having the water on the surface isn't quite the same as being able to put it directly onto the wound. That's why this is taking so long."

"Why don't you cut him open then?"

Everyone turned towards Jiao, who was holding another kettle of tea.

"Cut him open?" Aang repeated, as unsure of the idea as everyone else was.

Jiao shrugged, suddenly looking nervous. "I mean, then you could get to the wound easier, right?"

Iroh rubbed his chin, mulling the idea over. "As long as we could keep my nephew unconscious during the procedure, that might be a good idea. I do have enough medical training from my days as a general to help stitch him up afterwards." Jiao brightened, putting the kettle down onto a nearby table before leaving.

"I could help heal him too, Katara," Aang told her.

"At least, you can do _something_ good," she unintentionally whispered. Her mind was racing too fast over the concept of performing such a dangerous procedure that she didn't even pay attention to what she was saying. She needed to be more careful if she wanted to execute her plan of revenge without _them_ knowing.

"Katara?"

"Nothing." Katara shook her head. Jiao was right: Zuko's wound could be healed significantly if she even had a few minutes to heal directly. But that also meant she couldn't focus on the _blood_ that would be potentially pouring out of him. "I need time to think this over… It's risky. It could make things worse. I just… I need some time."

"No one's rushing you, Katara." Sokka spoke up, his big-brother eyes piercing into her own eyes when she looked up at him. It was a moment of calming for her, a moment where she forgot about Zuko and Aang and Toph. Katara took a deep breath.

"Perhaps we should talk about something else," Iroh offered, noticing her panicked expression. "Tell me about your adventures."

Katara looked below her brother, where Toph was lounging by his feet. "Do you guys remember when Toph had that giant crush on Sokka?" She said without thinking again. At least this time it wouldn't blow her cover.

Both Toph and Sokka started blushing.

"Oh my gosh, I do!" Suki laughed, clapping her hands together. "She even kissed me once thinking I was Sokka."

"I didn't know about that!" Sokka cried out. "Toph?"

Toph had leaned away from the couch and was trying to look concentrated on tracing her finger on the lining of the cushion below her. "A crush?" She sweated. "I don't know… Yeah, I guess. I had a _little_ crush on you back when I was _12_."

Katara laughed while looking back and forth between Toph and Sokka, noticing the awkward air between them. It seemed the trio left of the gaang might no longer be a trio if Katara could keep up with her meddling. _Whoops, it seems you're losing friends left and right here, Tophy._

"Really? _Sokka_?" Aang said, a certain amount of jealousy to his voice that Katara wouldn't have recognized without knowing about their affair.

"Um, yeah," Toph responded harshly. "But that's completely over, so no need for any of you to worry about that."

Iroh chuckled. "Really? No lingering feelings whatsoever?" It seemed Iroh was set on being on Katara's side whether he knew it or not.

"I'm pretty sure that there are no feelings between me and Sokka- nor will there be any in the future!" Toph said louder than she needed to, making everyone in the room suddenly uncomfortable. Katara had to contain her laughter at the girl's blush.

…

"You cut through that silence like a knife, Zuko! You wouldn't believe it… Spirits, I know how unhealthy this grudge is, but it's almost fun with all the nothing-but-sadness that's going on. Later, I even heard Aang and her arguing in her room. It's a major chance from the somberness leaking out of everyone."

Katara looked down at the sleeping man's face. She had actually tried to rest that night, but instead of worry keeping her up, it had been… excitement. Excitement for her revenge, excitement for her future, excitement for finally knowing the truth? She had no idea, but when she couldn't fall asleep, Katara found herself back in Zuko's room, telling him everything as she healed him.

"I have so many ideas, but I don't know what's worth it and what will be a waste of time."

"And what will kill the group of friends we have?" Zuko asked, startling Katara.

"You're awake?" Katara dropped the water, soaking Zuko's bed. She quickly gathered it back up and dropped it into the nearby bowl.

Zuko opened his eyes. "Before I relapsed, I would normally wake up when pretty girls showed up in my room in the middle of the night."

"Was that a normal occurrence?" Katara asked.

Zuko struggled to sit up, knocking Katara's hand out of the way when she tried to push him back down. "Katara, I am _so,_ unbelievably sorry that that happened to you. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to find out your best friend and your boyfriend are cheating on you."

Katara felt a pang of guilt. This wasn't how she wanted Zuko to find out. She wasn't sure she ever wanted this _dying_ man to find out. "I don't even feel upset that they cheated on me if I'm honest, Zuko. A part of me felt _something_ like this coming… without even knowing they had any attraction towards each other. You don't have to feel that bad."

"It's still a horrible situation to be put in… And you do know you shouldn't be trying to exact your revenge on them."

Katara avoided his gaze. "I suppose I _know_ that."

Zuko sighed. "But it's going to take a lot for you to realize that doing this will be a huge mistake. Listen, Katara, I will always be here for you during this process. Now, I can't leave my bed," he motioned to the bundle of sheets around him, "so I can't stop you from this. But I'm in no way going to support it."

"I never asked you to."

"You're going to tell me all about it since I'm bedridden for at least another month anyway." Zuko gave her a look.

"Oh! Speaking of," Katara was quick to change the subject, "there's a good chance we're going to be taking you apart." Katara tapped his abdomen.

Zuko shook his head. "I'm sorry?"

"Jiao suggested that to heal you faster, we should get closer to where the wound is… which means cutting you open."

"I knew I would regret hiring her…" Zuko rubbed his temples. "Is that going to be safe?"

"Not exactly… Honestly, I'm still thinking about it. But I actually would like for you to get better as soon as possible. It would stress everyone out a lot for short period of time, but if all goes well, you could be walking normally within two weeks and hopefully never worry about your injury again."

Zuko paled. "But I could also be dead within two weeks?"

"And that's why I'm still mulling it over." Katara took Zuko's hand. "Listen, you risked your life once for me, and I'm not going to risk it again. If I _really_ think there's a good chance you'll be hurt more than helped, it's worth the wait and the time to heal you slowly."

Zuko set his hand on top of hers. "I appreciate that."

…

"Hey, Zuko!" Katara scurried into the room and jumped onto the bed, sitting on her knees.

"Hey, Katara!" He responded with the same enthusiasm before rolling his eyes and setting his book to the side.

"So, I was thinking, just in case something goes wrong the procedure or just with, you know, your illness in general, maybe you should spend some more time with friends."

The firebender nodded. "Ah, yeah. That makes me feel _really_ confident in leaving my life in your hands."

Katara ignored him. "Seriously, I'm going to help you come down to dinner tonight… and I won't do anything to Toph and Aang while you're there."

"Just while I'm there?" Zuko raised an eyebrow

"Yes, while you're there."

…

There was a round of applause from friends and servants as Zuko limped into the dining room, supporting himself on Katara's shoulder and a cane. He awkwardly raised a hand, looking around the room.

"It's so good to see you walking!" Suki said upon him entering.

"It _would_ be great to see you walking!" Toph added, the comment going right over most people's heads. Katara had to grit her teeth. Was there ever going to be a time where Toph wasn't going to constantly mention her disability? She obviously was able to get along in life well enough to ruin some people's relationships.

Katara led Zuko to the end of the table where a mound of food and a bowl of soup were waiting for him. Katara sat beside him and Aang took the spot beside her. For a moment, Katara forgot that he didn't know she was angry at him and almost told him to screw off. Then, after Toph took the seat in front of Aang, Katara almost told _her_ to screw off… and she _had_ remembered Toph wasn't aware that Katara knew about the affair. It didn't help that the closet was right behind the earthbender's seat.

"Nephew, would you mind if I took that biscuit of yours?" Iroh asked from across Katara, his hand only an inch away from stealing the piece of bread off the edge of Zuko's plate.

"No need, General!" Jiao called, pushing through the doors of the kitchen with a tray in her hands and a fleet of other servants carrying similar meals. Iroh licked his lips as she set down an identical plate of food and bowl of soup as Zuko's. "I hope you all enjoy. I overheard Ambassador Katara telling Lord Zuko that he would come down tonight, so I made sure there would be a special dinner. There's a traditional Southern Water Tribe soup, fruits gathered from the forests near the Southern Air Temple, an assortment of baked goods from Kyoshi Island, the famous Gaoling fried rice, and beef-pork roasted in spices from our very own Fire Kingdom." She looked over towards Aang. "And, of course, Avatar, we've prepared the vegetarian versions of each dish for you."

Everyone looked in amazement at the food organized delicately onto their plates.

"This looks amazing, young lady!" Iroh clapped his hands. "Please, tell me, what is your name?"

The servant blushed. "Jiao."

"A pretty name for a beautiful lady."

"Uncle, please stop flirting with her. Jiao is far too young for you." Zuko rubbed his eyes, but he couldn't disguise the smile on his face from the normalcy. The servant bowed out of the room, obviously embarrassed by the situation.

"What are you talking about, Sparky? Iroh's at the ripe old age of 70!" Toph grinned. It was so odd to Katara to see someone who was guilty, act so normally around other people. Here was Toph, possibly sleeping with her boyfriend, laughing around with friends. Katara wasn't even guilty for anything (aside for letting Zuko almost die) and it hurt in her heart to smile with them.

Iroh let out a hearty laugh. "Actually, young runaway, I'm 71!"

" _I thought he was 80!_ " Sokka whispered to Suki louder than he thought was whispering. Everyone turned towards him, struggling not to snicker.

Katara, noticing an opening, flicked her hand upwards, the soup in Toph's bowl floating into the air before being dropped into her lap. Katara covered her mouth with her hand, trying to feign surprise as the earthbender jumped up from her seat.

"What the hell just happened?!" Toph frantically tried to wipe the soup off her front.

"Are you alright?" Aang asked, getting up with a napkin in his hand to help her.

Toph groaned, "I'm fine. I guess I just bumped into the stupid bowl." She hesitated for a moment before stomping out the room to change.

"Was that worth it or a waste of your time?" Zuko leaned to the side and asked Katara, who was watching the scene with obvious glee in her eyes.

Katara was reminded of her promise to not mess with Toph or Aang, but rolled her eyes as she told him, "Just for fun." Then, she laughed. And she didn't feel guilty about it.


End file.
